A regional council looks set to hand back $1 million in drought funding as the Federal Government concedes it needs to review how it hands out assistance to communities battling dry weather.

If this one-man show at The Blue Room is anything to go by, it would be appalling behaviour indeed if the rest of the Blue Room Season "Close Up" was not well attended. I'm not one for one-man shows generally, or for that matter one-woman shows. They can often be hard to sustain especially when the subject matter is not comedic.

You've got to love experimental theatre don't you? Even when they choose a subject that would challenge most theatre goers. I went to see 'Wish' at the Blue Room last week. The second production in their 'Up Close' season of eight productions. And I haven't stopped thinking about it.

Like four buzzing bees to the honey pot, my husband, son, his teenage friend and I all flew into the city centre ready for a treat. None of us had any idea what the festival opening was about. I had merely glanced at the festival email as it hit my inbox and was instantly drawn in by the images of acrobats a top spinning things and fire and light filling the sky - a theatrical cacophony.

720 ABC Perth put the call out for eight young bright things (aged 8 - 12) to become our ABC Bright Young Arts Reviewers for the 2011 AWESOME Festival.

ABC Junior Arts Reviewer, Sofie Kerr reviews the 2011 AWESOME Festival.

720 ABC Perth put the call out for eight young bright things (aged 8 - 12) to become our ABC Bright Young Arts Reviewers for the 2011 AWESOME Festival. On Saturday 19th November, our reviewers got their ABC media passes and headed for a tour of the festival - seeing performances and installations that feature from 19 - 27 November in spots around the city.

720 ABC Perth put the call out for eight young bright things (aged 8 - 12) to become our ABC Bright Young Arts Reviewers for the 2011 AWESOME Festival.

720 ABC Perth put the call out for eight young bright things (aged 8 - 12) to become our ABC Bright Young Arts Reviewers for the 2011 AWESOME Festival. On Saturday 19th November, our reviewers got their ABC media passes and headed for a tour of the festival - seeing performances and installations that feature from 19 - 27 November in spots around the city.

Perth Theatre Company's latest play, reviewed by ABC 720's cultural correspondent Victoria Laurie.

If you have to take a quick crash course in thermodynamics and chaos theory before seeing a play, is it really worth seeing? It's a question that could be posed by Arcadia, Tom Stoppard's bulgingly brainy theatre piece that Black Swan State Theatre Company has chosen for its second 2012 season offering.

A modest show about Nyoongar identity is a comic insight into living in two worlds, says 720 ABC's cultural correspondent Victoria Laurie

In expert hands, even memory loss can be a topic for satisfying drama, says ABC 720's cultural correspondent Victoria Laurie

How did Oedipus become such a naughty little boy? Is it all the fault of his mother? Perth Theatre Company's latest show is an imaginative take on the Greek myth, says ABC 720's cultural correspondent Victoria Laurie

Drought-stricken Queensland farmers are worried about where their underground water is going as a new report questions the impact of a controversial coal mine.

Opposition Water spokesman Tony Burke has announced Labor would change the way 450 gigalitres of water is recovered, by "restoring the socio-economic definition" for delivering water.

The president of WA Farmers is calling for higher standards to be met before proposed foreign investments are given the green light.

Supporters of wind farms are urging state and federal governments to back the use of the renewable energy source, after an official review of evidence found a lack of support for claims of health effects.

A regional business lobby group says the Federal Government should recognise how important skilled foreign worker visas are in country areas.

Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, Jean Luc Ponty, Lennie White and Aussie Frank Gambale

Jazzworx! Music Institute, plus special guest vocalist Melissa Western.

I may be still flushed with enthusiasm after seeing Neil Diamond at Perth Oval last night but I saw what, in the cold light of day, still feels like the best concert I've ever been to.

A film of extremes - the softest, gooiest heart, the broadest almost offensive humour, the roughest romance, the most touching romance, Mental is a little bit, well, mental.

Arbitrage segues smoothly into a psychological thriller, seamlessly weaving the financial finagling into the slow decline and fall of Robert Miller's moral universe.

A movie about a disabled man's experience with a sex surrogate - but so much more than that! The Sessions is about an amazing man who looks for love and meaning in a life that would leave many broken.

Tony has a completely nutty brainwave and the movie now clicks fearlessly into Wag The Dog (Barry Levinson) territory and becomes more than the sum of its parts - a tense rescue thriller and a great satire of Hollywood's always tenuous grip on reality!

The Rumble Review, featuring grumpy old men, robots and easy pickings for a jewel thief.

So, wine as a subject is all about heritage, soil and the climate (roughly, 'terroir'), about family and honour. Oh, and wine critics and huge amounts of money. What a great setting for drama -every theme known to Greek tragedy is here in this complex, sadly elegiac movie.

The latest Bond... James Bond.

The wonderful The Angels' Share reminds us that Loach's best work is always lit with flashes of humour as well as brilliant ensemble work between actors.

A John Hughes-esq teen coming-of-age film where the outcasts are the interesting folk and a shy wallflower with a mysterious past can shine.

A teen romance, heavily influenced by the hit TV show Glee, Pitch Perfect features teams of acapella singing groups competing for the crown with some college romance sprinkled in.

The plot such as it is the usual bourgeois breakdown and the final act is a shambles more like a dud war movie than a delicious comedy.

A sweet, gentle story about a sweet, gentle man who loves books, loved uni, and is looking for love in all the wrong places.

Side Effects is many things, and finally becomes a full throttle thriller moving ahead at great pace and no little intricacy.

This is a film at once calm, cold and scary.

It's an American classic. A masterpiece of modern theatre. Written by one of the greatest playwrights of the 20th century Arthur Miller.

Every week Drive sends a listener to the Festival Films to be their deckchair reviewer. Here's what our reviewer thought of Jappeloup.

This week's Deckchair Review is from Robyn Westbrook for the film Mood Indigo.

It was a full house for the opening night of The Gilded Cage, Somerville's latest film, a thoroughly relaxing and charming adult family comedy.

Deckchair Reviewer John Gilby reviews one of the year's most acclaimed films, 12 Years a Slave.

Deckchair Reviewer, Denise, gives her review of 'A Hijacking', currently showing at Perth International Film Festival's Joondalup Pines.

The latest film from Oscar winning director Asghar Farhadi is our Deckchair Review this week - The Past.

Geoff's Picture Show (and Geoff) review the latest Alexander Payne film, Nebraska.

Geoff Hutchison reviews the most talked about film of the year - 12 Years a Slave.

One man's epic fight to stay alive is the premise of 'All is Lost'. Deckchair Reviewer Daniel tells us what he thought of the latest Robert Redford thriller.

Geoff Hutchison reviews 'Her' starring Joaquin Pheonix, Amy Adams and Scarlett Johansson as the voice of Samantha.

Nick and Meg escape to Paris in a bid to save their marriage. Will they survive? Geoff Hutchison reviews the latest Roger Michell film, Le Week-end.

The devastating effect of mental illness on family life is not the most likely material for a rock musical (or a great night out), but Next to Normal is one of the best productions all year.